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What do highways bosses say?

Coventry City Council ’s Cabinet Member for City Services, Cllr Jayne Innes, said: "The junction is a real bottle neck, and because of how the area is built, pollutant is kept really close to the road.

"The plan is to make traffic move more smoothly in the area, which has several benefits.

"We don't want cars queuing up with their engines running, creating exhaust fumes. It will also benefit local residents as traffic won't back up as much.

"Coventry is unusual in some ways, as we have civilised motoring behaviour in the city centre, in part thanks to the Ring Road and the restricted parking zone.

"The elevated ring road disperses pollution away from people, so we're ahead of the game, but we've still got to work.

"We're hoping to finalise plans in the autumn, and we want to move quickly, starting the work in January. Hopefully, it will be finished around the April/May time."

(Image: Coventry City Council)

Working alongside the Government

As part of Clean Air Day back in June, the Environment Minister, Thérèse Coffey, highlighted the work that the Government is doing alongside Coventry City Council, as part of a national effort to cut down on pollution.

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She said: "Air pollution is the fourth biggest risk to public health after cancer, obesity and heart disease.

"It affects people’s wellbeing and cuts lives short on average by about six months.

"As Environment Minister, I know how important it is to tackle air pollution and have a world where everyone can breathe clean air.

"The good news is that air pollution is falling. But it’s not falling quickly enough.

"The government is taking action and we have just published an ambitious Clean Air Strategy setting out how we will reduce air pollution even further than EU limits, raising our ambition to make progress towards the limits set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

"Our action doesn’t stop there though, as we will also end the sale of conventional new diesel and petrol cars and vans by 2040 and are spending £3.5billion to reduce emissions across the country.

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"It isn’t just for government to act on air pollution. Everyone can and should play their part in giving our towns and cities cleaner, healthier air but there is no one size fits all approach. That is why we need local areas to come up with local solutions that best suit their communities. And I am pleased to see that this is happening.

"Coventry City Council is putting a range of measures in place to improve the city’s air quality, including £425,000 to make significant improvements to a key junction.

"Tackling air pollution has to be a joint effort - in Westminster I will continue to play my part, working hard to implement a national strategy and working closely with local councils.

"Here in Coventry, from leaving the car at home and walking or using public transport, burning cleaner fuels and servicing your stoves, you can do your bit too. If we all take small steps we can make huge strides in our clean air journey."